DUSHANBE, July 1, 2011, Asia-Plus — A round-table workshop held at the conference hall of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in Dushanbe on June 30.
According to the delegation of European Union in Tajikistan, the event was organized by ACTED office within the frameworks of the EU funded project “Adding value to Central Asian Migration: Awareness, Capacity Building and Networking for Maximizing the Impact of Migration on Growth and Development.”
The meeting, which brought together the main actors in the field of labor migration in the country, took a critical look at the project as a whole. The objective of the meeting was to look at the “results, achievements, lessons learned, and exit strategy” of this regional project on labor migration. ACTED conveyed to participants both the progress and the difficulties faced during the implementation of project activities. Furthermore, this meeting acted as a platform to develop a set of recommendations for the implementation of future activities in the field of labor migration relevant for both state authorities, as well as local and international actors.
The project was implemented over a period of more than two years in both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The project targeted 380 vulnerable communities in Tajikistan (in both Sughd and Khatlon provinces) and 120 vulnerable communities in Kyrgyzstan (in the provinces of Osh, Batken and Jalalabad).
The overall expectations at the outset of the project were to develop a more effective mechanism for migration management in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in order to raise the capacity of governmental authorities to provide more secure and humane support to the labor workforce of both countries. It also aimed to increase migrants’ knowledge regarding legal and other risks that they may face in countries of destination; namely Russia and Kazakhstan. Another integral part of the project was aimed at harnessing the economic potential of migrant workers to contribute to the socio-economic development of vulnerable rural communities in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The European Union, composed of 27 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. The EU has strengthened its relationship with the Central Asian countries since the adoption of “The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership” by the European Council in June 2007. The strategy strengthens relations in all areas of cooperation, including through the reinforcement of EU-Central Asia political dialogue with regular meetings of EU and Central Asian Foreign Ministers, reinforcement of dialogue on human rights, cooperation in the areas of education, rule of law, energy and transport, environment and water, common threats and challenges (including border management and combating drug trafficking), and trade and economic relations. The strategy is supported by a significant increase in EU assistance which has doubled to €750 million for 2007-2013. Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance (€66 million for 2007-2010 and 62 million for 2011-2013) in support to sector programs, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EU assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €500 million.
